NEW AIRLINE TRIMS FARE TO ATLANTA SOUTHERN AIRLINES TO OFFER 1-WAY FLIGHT FOR JUST $55

Southern Airlines Inc. will begin operating discount charter flights Monday between Orlando and Atlanta, a route that has been characterized by expensive fares.

Southern's one-way fares will cost $55 through June 24 and $64 thereafter. Flights will depart daily at 4:15 p.m. from Orlando International Airport's Tradeport Terminal, west of the airport.

Southern Airlines, which is based in Atlanta, is a tour operator, not an airline. Under a Southern Airlines contract, Flight International Inc. of Atlanta will provide a Boeing 727-100, pilot and flight crew for the new service. Flight International has U.S. Department of Transportation certificates to operate charter flights, which are regulated differently than regularly scheduled flights.

R. Joseph Costanzo Jr., an Atlanta attorney, and a group of investors recently founded Southern Airlines.

Southern Airlines has about 40 employees who are reservation agents in Atlanta. Fares will be collected from passengers during the flights, according to the Department of Transportation.

Southern Airlines also will offer charter flights from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale and Newark, N.J. The company plans to establish Chicago, St. Petersburg and Washington, D.C., as destinations.

Fares between Atlanta and Florida cities are considered expensive in the airline industry. A regular roundtrip economy fare between Orlando and Atlanta, for example, costs $376. Other roundtrip fares, with advance purchase and scheduling restrictions, range from $133 to $320.

Another airline, Skybus Inc., has proposed offering discount flights from Atlanta to Orlando. Skybus wants to operate its flights at Fulton County- Brown Field in Atlanta, a general aviation airport for private aircraft. Fulton County commissioners are studying the request.